An old lazy couple was sitting in their rocking chairs and staring into the fireplace. The wife, believing it was raining but too lazy to get up and look out the window, told her husband to go see if rain really was falling. Too lazy to get up himself, the husband thought about it for a moment and then said, "Ah, just call in the dog and see if he's wet."
Some people will do anything to get out of doing something. In his proverbs, King Solomon had nothing good to say about lazy people, and nothing but good to say about those who work hard. The lazy he called slothful and sluggards, and the workers he called diligent and wise.
In Proverbs 14:23 Solomon said "In all toil there is profit." In 10:26 he compared said lazy people are as irritating as vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes.
But my favorite anecdote about the slothful person is found in 19:24--"The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it to his mouth."
In a similar proverb (12:27) he said, "Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth."
The king humorously pictures someone who will put his fingers into the dish, but will not lift his hand up to his mouth. He has reached down and picked up his food, but he is too lazy to take a bite. Imagine being too lazy to eat!
He also portrayed a man who kills an animal, but doesn't cook it. He goes through the trouble of hunting his game, but doesn't have enough follow through to turn it into a meal.
He is teaching how utterly unproductive the lazy person is. They might begin a task well, shooting a deer or picking up a bite, but they don't finish the job. They will die of starvation, but the cause of death is actually laziness.
Solomon obviously is being facetious, but the principle is true. God expects us to have a strong work ethic to not only provide for ourselves, but to carry out the Great Commission. Don't starve yourself of a blessing or starve the lost of the Gospel. Roast your game and put your food in your mouth.
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